


Hit the Ground Running

by orphan_account



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Angst, BAMF!Talia, Derek is Not a Failwolf, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fox!Stiles, Full Shift Werewolves, Good Peter, Hurt Derek, Hurt Stiles, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Sorry, M/M, Magic!Stiles, Mates, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, alternate universe-never met, i dont know, i dont know what this is, just a little, maybe? - Freeform, mild sarcasm, slightly OOC Stiles, slightly OOC derek, sterek, well there's a little canon thrown in there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-12
Updated: 2014-09-29
Packaged: 2018-01-19 01:32:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1450339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles ran. What else could he do? He'd been running so long it had become instinct to run when things got bad. So he ran, he ran far and fast. He ran to where no-one could find him, Beacon Hills, CA.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic so I'm sorry if it sucks. I wanted to put a little pre-game info on here for y'all.  
> 1\. Were-foxes aren't identifiable by smell, i.e. their smell changes(but not completely)depending on their form  
> 2\. Werewolves shift all the way because how could they not?  
> 3\. mates have very specific scents that only the significant other will recognize  
> I'll let y'all figure the rest out as we go. One more thing, please let me know if you want more chapters, I have one in the making but I want to know if it should go up or not.

Stiles ran. What else could he do? He'd been running so long it had become instinct to run when things got bad. So he ran, he ran far and fast. He ran to where no-one could find him, Beacon Hills, CA.

*-----*  
Stiles had had a good life back in New York where he had been born. His mom took him to Central Park to run every Saturday night, and his dad would teach him how to shoot a gun on most weekdays. Semi-normal family bonding time, right? Excusing the fact that he would run in Central Park with his mom in fox form, not human, and the reason his dad taught him how to use a gun was because they were in constant threat of attack. Other than that, yeah, totally normal.This lasted up until he was about seven, that was when it all went to hell.

A few weeks after his birthday, hunters burst through the front door guns blazing. He could still remember his mother's piercing scream of, "Stiles, GO!" cut short by a bullet piercing her skull. Traumatized, he had run out the back door, running on autopilot, and kept running until he had reached the state border. Shifted, he stumbled through the Pennsylvania woods, found a hollow tree, and curled up inside it for the night, still sobbing, he never found out what happened to his dad.

He ran for months, which turned into years. He would shift back to human occasionally just so he wouldn't lose basic motor skills like speech. He would spend his nights in shelters or the woods, depending on how cold it was. He was attacked so many times, he stopped keeping track once they reached the hundreds. A week ago, there had been a particularly bad one, leaving him with a bullet in the arm and probable broken ribs.

*-----*

Derek sighed as he sped down the road, Laura was truly a pain in the ass. Who cared if she had a broken foot? It'll heal in a few minutes so why does he have to get chocolate to, "aid her healing process?" His train of thought was cut off as a red and brown streak flew across the road. "Shit!" he hissed as he swerved to avoid hitting the animal, or whatever it was.

Turning everything but the headlights off, Derek jumped out of the car and ran towards the unconscious pile of fur. "Ohgodohgodohgodohgod," he chanted under his breath as he turned the, fox? yes, fox, over and examined it for damages. A quiet whine escaped the fox's jaws when Derek moved it. Derek ran shaking fingers lightly over the rather striking fur. Blood matted its right shoulder and blood was pooling on the ground from where Derek's car had grazed its flank. It shuddered when Derek touched its side so he assumed something was also wrong internally. Carefully, Derek scooped up the unconscious fox, laid his jacket on the back seat of the Camaro, and placed the fox on top of the soft leather. He then proceeded to leap into the front seat, turn the key in the ignition, and gun it all the way to Deaton's.

*-----*  
The last thing Stiles remembered was running out into the road(dumbass, why did you do that? Idiot!) and a dazzling spray of pain. When he blinked his eyes open, the first thing he saw was a face, a handsome but strange face. Startled, he scrambled back, claws skittering on the surface of the metal examination table. Claws? Wait a minute. Stiles glanced down and stared at his paws, then his tail, and finally, back at the face he had seen earlier. Why hadn't he shifted? Nothing had been out of the ordinary except............. that's it! Exhaustion, he had found early on that he couldn't shift when he was really tired. One thing was for certain though, he was going to be stuck here for a while.

*-----*  
Derek was watching the fox, desperately trying to find any sign of life, when the fox's eyes fluttered open. He sucked in a breath at the strange amber color of those eyes. They were a shining amber, not typical of a fox and almost human. The fox exploded into motion, eyes widening in panic, it scrambled back on the table, only to stop suddenly. It looked down at its paws hesitantly, wuffed irritatedly, and stared straight at Derek as if daring him to do something. Deaton chose that moment to walk in, waving papers over his head in a flurry of movement. Derek and the fox tensed and relaxed at the same time, then glared warily at each other.

"Well," Deaton said, obviously amused, "good news is, he won't die. Bad news is, he's out of commission for a few days. He's going to need some help, especially with that bullet wound."

"Bullet wound?!" Derek exclaimed, enraged at the thought of someone hurting an innocent fox, "You mean someone's been hunting him?" he hissed, clenching his fist at his side, not missing the way the fox winced at the word "hunting."

"Yes, pretty regularly I'd say, considering how many old fractures and scars he has." Deaton explained, shuffling his papers around before turning to the fox and prodding at the bandages, making an apologetic noise when he made him whine in pain.

"I'll do it," Derek suddenly exclaimed, "I'll bring it-him home and take care of him."

"Well, Derek, I wasn't expecting you to volunteer but sure, you can take care of him for as long as you want." Deaton said with a knowing smirk, "I'd take him home now though, he looks tired." he said, motioning to the fox who was almost asleep, "Looks like the anesthetics are kicking in."

"Thanks Deaton, come on buddy, time to come home with me," Derek said as he lifted him, who huffed indignantly, but warily settled into Derek's leather jacket.

*-----*  
After Stiles was carried, in a rather undignified manner he might add, to Derek's vehicle. There, Derek gently placed him in the back of the most beautiful car Stiles had ever seen in his life. It had a sleek black exterior with a nice black leather interior. It appeared to be well taken care of.

On the way to Derek's house, Stiles pondered. He wondered if he could trust this stranger who had just randomly decide to take in an injured werefox, not that he knew what Stiles was, obviously. He could be one of the hunters from the Argent group who had been chasing him for over a decade, and just wanted to capture Stiles so he could kill him. After a while Stiles drifted off to thoughts of Derek and Argents.

*-----*  
"Dereeeeeeek, did you get my peanut butter cu-oh my god!" Laura exclaimed and ran across the forest floor to where Derek was holding the sleeping fox, "What happened Der?" she asked breathlessly, stroking the his fur.

"I was going to get your candy when this little guy comes rocketing out of nowhere and right in front of my car and I hit him." Derek said mournfully as he trekked up the path to the Hale mansion where the rest of the Hale pack was.

"You hit him Derek?! How could you? He looks so sweet." Laura exclaimed as she grabbed the fox from his arms, waking the him up in the process. He looked around dazedly before realizing he was no longer in his warm nest of leather and whined, leaning towards Derek. "He sure seems to like you, even though you hit him with your car." Laura muttered sulkily as she handed him back to Derek, who grinned widely at his sister's misery. He frowned slightly as he caught the scent of cinnamon and peaches, strangely it seemed to be coming from the fox.

*-----*  
Stiles watched the two werewolves walk into the kitchen and out of sight. He wrinkled his nose, the entire place reeked of werewolf, at least that means they're not hunters. He sighed and changed his position on the couch, wincing as he went. The graze from the accident was already almost healed, but the bullet wound was taking its sweet time healing. 'Kate must've done something to the bullet' Stiles grimaced as he nosed at the bandages.

"Hey!"

Stiles started at the noise, then whined at the shooting pain the sudden movement caused. He looked up to see Derek glaring at him with a bowl of water in one hand, and a bowl of raw bacon in the other.

"You're not supposed to mess with those buddy," Derek sighed as he put down the bowls and leaned in to reset the bandages. Stiles froze, mind racing. Could he trust him? How did he know he wasn't some crazy, psycho, serial-killing werewolf? It was decided, no trusting strange werewolves for Stiles, even if he smelled like cinnamon and peaches. Stiles growled low in his throat.

*-----*  
The fox froze when Derek went to re-adjust the bandages. Puzzled, he pulled his hands back a fraction and watched the fox consider something. Slowly, his muzzle morphed into a snarl and his eyes snapped up and narrowed as he zeroed in on Derek's face. He growled and kept glaring even after Derek had pulled his hands away.

"What did you do Der?" Laura asked as she walked up to stand beside him.

"Nothing! I went to adjust his bandages and he growled at me," Derek said as he nudged the bowls closer to the young fox, backing up as the fox nosed around the bowls and started eating.

"He's completely different from how I expected a fox to act, I wonder why," Laura mused as she settled into an overstuffed leather armchair on the other side of the room, far away from the fox.

"Deaton said it was to be expected, considering what he's been through." Derek said exasperatedly, "He didn't say what that was though. He insists on being cryptic, I don't know why. I think he does it just to piss me off."

"Mmm," Laura hummed, "well, you enjoy explaining why we have an injured fox in our living room to mom."

"Yes, please do explain, Derek. I would love to know what you were thinking." Talia rumbled, bright red eyes focused on her son.

*-----*  
Stiles stared at the powerful new presence in the room. She was the Alpha, going by the red-eyed death glare she was giving Derek. He snorted in amusement at the sight of Mr. Broody McGlare cowering under the stern gaze of his Alpha.

"Mom, I mean, Alpha, I can explain-" Derek whined, if he was in wolf form his ears would have flattened back to his head. Laura just seemed incredibly amused at this turn of events.

"Don't bother, Deaton called me. Now, little one, my name is Talia, you don't need to be scared," the woman, Talia, cooed as she reached towards him to scratch his ears.

"Mom, don't!" Derek and Laura exclaimed, but too late, for Stiles had already latched onto her hand.

"Well young man, we're going to have to work on those manners of yours," she huffed as she bopped him on the nose and eased her hand out of his jaws. Stiles sunk back into the cushions, wild eyes darting from face to face.

"I tried to tell you," Derek winced when he saw the nasty bite already healing on Talia's hand.

"It looks like Little Red here is going to be a handful," Talia sighed, standing and going to find her husband, completely missing the way Stiles' lip curled in disgust at the name 'Little Red."

*-----*


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW. So many people have read this and liked it already! Now, it may not seem like a lot to the rest of you, but to a first-time fic writer, this is REALLY cool. By the way, if any of you want to see what Stiles looks like as a fox or what Derek looks like as a wolf, tell me in the comments and I'll see what I can do.

Little Red? What did Talia think Stiles was? A wild animal? Oh, wait......never mind. At least it was better than his real name, Genim, shudder. His train of thought was interrupted by Derek's hesitant observing which was fast becoming very annoying. He shot a glare over to the other side of the room where the older man was sitting and watching. When he realized he'd been noticed, Derek's ears turned a light pink and he practically ran out of the room. Why would he be embarrassed by being caught by a fox? It must be a natural reaction, Stiles reasoned. He turned around and went right back to dozing with his nose nestled in his fluffy red tail.

*-----*

Over the last few days, the fox had been doing extremely well, aside from the constant sour mood. Derek was becoming increasingly irritated with this small, infuriating animal. There was no reason for him to be so pissed at the Hales, all they wanted to do was help. And all Derek wanted to do was to find out why he smelled so  _good._ Sighing, he thought back to yesterday and how it had gone.

_"Red, you have to let us change your bandages!" Laura hissed as the fox snarled right back at her._

_"Baby, maybe you just have to give him some time to get used to the pack, to be more comfortable,"  Paul, Laura's husband, reasoned, trying to calm his incensed wife down._

_"I know,"  Laura sighed, deflating, "But I just want him to get better and he won't let me do that."_

This was basically how the entire past week had gone, with them trying to help and the fox being pissy and refusing any help that was offered to him with a growl. He did seem to be more energetic, possibly more trusting, Derek wasn't quite sure. But he did know who would be sure, Deaton.

"Mom, I'm taking Red to Deaton's so he can change his bandages," Derek called, grabbing the keys.

"Be careful taking him to the car!" Talia called from somewhere in the kitchen.

"Will do, bye!" He called back, turning to the fox he muttered "Now for the fun part....." Hesitantly, he inched towards the ball of sleeping red fur with scattered black spots. Slowly, he reached out and slid his hands under the fox, easily lifting him, and pulled him into an iron grip so he couldn't escape. Walking out of the house, arms full of squirming fox, he laughed at how stubborn the little thing was. Derek unceremoniously plopped the fox on the back seat, mindful of the injury, and pulled the car out of the driveway and off to Deaton's.

*-----*

Still fuming at how he had been treated on the way to the car, Stiles sulked on the metal table in the vet's office.

"Derek, I have to run some tests on him to make sure everything is alright with him, and to see if I can find anything that might be causing his "perpetual bad mood" as you put it." Deaton stated, gently steering Derek towards the door with his clipboard.

"He'll be okay right? The tests won't hurt him?" Derek protested, turning to face the vet.

"YES, Derek, now go, he needs as few people as possible in here right now." the vet said, amused at how protective Derek was. Pouting, he stalked out of the room.

"Now young man, please explain to me why you haven't shifted back," Deaton inquired, one eyebrow raised in what seemed to be his natural expression. Stiles gaped at him, how did he know what he was? Was he an enemy? Better safe than sorry, Stiles snarled at the possible threat.

"Oh relax, I saw your blood tests, I know what you are and I'm not going to hurt you." he said in a fondly exasperated tone, like he was used to this, and waved what looked like test results in the air. Reluctantly, Stiles stopped snarling. Wait, what about Derek? He must've heard all of that! Stiles looked at Deaton with wide eyes and then he looked pointedly at the closed door and back to Deaton.

"He's not a problem, Derek didn't hear any of that. Ever since the first time I realized I was working with werewolves, I got the room wolf-proofed. They can't hear or smell anything that goes on in here." Deaton said as he walked over to Sties and put the tests down on the table, "Now, can you please shift so I can get a better look at that bullet wound."

Looking at Deaton warily, Stiles slowly started to shift. Shifting had never been painful for Stiles, according to his mother were-foxes had an easier time shifting than werewolves, no-one was sure why. His muzzle started to recede as his fur started to disappear and his body got bigger and bigger. Finally, he was sitting cross-legged on the table in partial-shift. His ears twitching and his tail swishing back and forth in irritation. His glowing honey brown eyes pointed right at Deaton. Deaton stared in awe at the young man sitting on his table.

"Amazing," he breathed, "I've seen wolves shift but it always involves more pain and growling. Obviously, it doesn't hurt you though, I wonder why....... The wolves don't keep their ears and tail when they partial-shift either, this is fascinating."

"I'm not an exhibit, Yoda, could you please get on with the wound examination before Derek comes in wondering what is taking so long," Stiles snapped, eyes flashing gold.

"Oh! of course, apologies, it's just that I've never encountered a were-fox in person before so this is new to me," Deaton said, snapping out of his stupor to examine the wound, "It looks like it's completely healed as well as the graze from Derek's car."

"Oh, thank god," Stiles said, relieved, "Kate did something to the bullet so I wasn't sure how long it would take for it to heal, or if it would heal at all."

"Kate? Argent?" Deaton said sharply, head snapping up to look Stiles in the eyes.

"You know her?" Stiles asked, a growl starting low in the back of his throat.

"Not personally, but I've heard about her "reign of terror" starting in New York with a young family, I heard that their little boy was the only- oh, you're that boy aren't you?" Deaton said, surprised,

"Yes, yes I am. But I'm not a boy anymore, she took that from me." Stiles said mournfully, pushing back the memories of his mother's face when she was shot, his father's panicked screams, the gleeful face of Kate that had appeared as his mother's body fell to the side.

"I'm sorry if I brought back some bad memories for you.......I just realized, I don't even know your name." Deaton apologized.

"It's Genim, but you can call me Stiles." Stiles told him.

"Well Genim, you seem to be fine so I'm going to send you home with a clean bill of health, alright?" he asked.

"That's fine, can I shift back now?" Stiles requested, shifting back seamlessly when he nodded.

"One more thing, you can trust the Hales, they may be somewhat scary but they're trustworthy. I also know that they hate hunters just as much as you, so please play nice with them please." Deaton pleaded, stroking Stiles' ears. In response, Stiles nodded and leaned in to the stroking, obviously enjoying the contact.

*-----*

God Derek hated that room. He couldn't hear or smell what happened in there and it was unsettling, he was lost in thought when the door opened and Red strode out and straight to him. He stared down at the fox, who was now apparently very interested in nuzzling Derek's knee. 

"What did you do?" Derek inquired, leaning down to stroke the head of the very affectionate fox.

"The bandages were bothering him and his shoulder was aching so he was generally very temperamental. I simply removed the bandages and gave him some pain medication and now he seems to be much more agreeable." Deaton said, affectionately watching the two nuzzle at each other, subconsciously scent-marking each other. It would be interesting when they realized what was happening and what they were. 

"I did find out who's been hunting.....Red, the Argents. The bullet that was in his shoulder turned out to be one of theirs when I removed it." Deaton said, holding up the papers with the data.

"The Argents? Who are they?" Derek inquired, sitting down so the fox could curl up in his lap. The warmth from his fur spread pleasantly through Derek's body, relaxing him.

"The Argents are a major hunting family who hunt supernatural creatures. They have been on a reign of terror for the past seven years. They started in New York and continued across the states, their next target should be somewhere in Nevada, which means they could be on their way to California. When you get home, warn your family to be careful about who they trust," Deaton explained.

"But if they hunt supernatural creatures, why were they hunting him?" Derek asked curling his fingers tightly into Red's fur.

"Ask him yourself," Deaton said cryptically, disappearing back into his office.

"I swear the man is like Yoda," Derek muttered, getting up to walk to his car. Looking questioningly at the open door when he heard hysterical laughter coming from inside.

*-----*

Stiles quietly observed the different reactions of the Hale pack when Derek explained the situation to them. Laura, Cora, and Paul looked panicked, the pups, Boyd and his girlfriend Erica, Lydia and her wife Allison, and Isaac and Scott and their boyfriends Danny and Jackson all looked petrified except Lydia and Jackson who both looked vaguely annoyed, Talia and Tony, Derek's father, looked furious, Peter's wife and children looked terrified, and Peter was staring at Stiles with an unreadable expression on his face.

"If the Argents only hunt supernatural creatures, why were they hunting him?" Peter asked, pointing a finger at Stiles, shaking with barely contained rage.

"Sport maybe? Whatever reason they had, it's not his fault that the Argents are coming to California." Derek soothed, moving to step in between Peter and Stiles.

"The fuck it isn't!" Peter roared, launching himself at Stiles and wrapping a clawed hand around his neck, "What the hell are you?"

"Peter!" the rest of the pack yelled in unison. Stiles would've found it amusing how coordinated the yell was if his brain wasn't lacking oxygen.

"Shut up, all of you! He brought them here, it's the only explanation," Peter hissed tightening his grip on Stiles' neck.

Shifting, he choked out, "It's really not." Shocked, Peter released his grip on his neck and stumbled back. Derek gaped, staring at the very naked young man on the couch where the fox had been. The man was long and lean, with pale skin dotted with moles. His neck was slender with moles clustered under his left ear. He had an adorable button nose and his eyes were a shining amber color, even more bright now that he was in human form. Wild and messy short brown hair stuck up randomly all over his head. In short, he was beautiful. The next thing he noticed was that the man's body was covered in scars. Long, thin, short, wide, they were everywhere. Derek shuddered to think about what had caused all those scars, and what they meant the fox had been through.

"Red?" Laura asked, voice wavering.

"My name is Genim, but you can call me Stiles. Why are you all staring, haven't you ever seen a were-fox before?" He asked, flashing them a cocky grin.

*-----*


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and feedback make my day, so please tell me your thoughts on this chapter:)! Enjoy!

After Peter had calmed down, they all settled down to hear Stiles' side of the story. Before they started questioning Stiles however, Laura tossed a pair of pants at Stiles' head saying, and I quote, "I will not spend this entire conversation in close proximity to your junk, comprende?" Stiles did. He slid the sweats on without complaint, then sat back down, steeling himself for the inevitable flurry of questions. Surprisingly, Derek spoke first.

"Where are you from? When I hit you with the car, sorry for that by the way, you were running really fast, and nothing runs that fast without a reason. Plus, I know you're not from Beacon Hills, considering I've never seen you around and I was raised here."

"I'm from New York," Stiles answered, already dreading where this conversation was going.

Laura whistled low, "That's a long way to run Stiles," she said.

"I know, I'm the one who ran that far," Stiles chuckled humorlessly.

"Why were you running? I mean, we know that the Argents attacked you recently, but what made you run from New York?" Peter asked, apparently now very intrigued by the young were-fox he had tried to kill earlier.

"Yes, the Argents attacked me last week, but that's not the first time they have. The attacks started when I was seven, my mom was making my favorite dinner. One minute she was putting the plates in front of me and my father, and the next, she was dead and I was running for my life." Stiles mumbled into the knee of his sweats, hiding his face. He knew that if he looked up he would start crying, or worse, have a panic attack. He hadn't had one since a few years after he had started running and it had all just hit him like a freight train. What he had lost, what he would never have, and what he could never get back. It had been bad, and he had only survived by thinking of his dad and the possibility that he had survived. He most likely wouldn't survive the next one, he was too weak still, the poison not fully out of his system yet.

"I guess that explains the scars......" Cora muttered, staring in horrified awe at the many silvery lines that marked his skin. "Yeah, guess it does," Stiles said ruefully, giving her a half-smile.

"How old are you?" Talia inquired, a kind of hesitant curiosity showing in her voice.

Swallowing, Stiles said, "I'm eighteen, Alpha."

"You've been running for eleven years?!" Tony shouted, this time he was the one shaking in rage. "How could they do this to a child? It's inhumane! I'm not even going to bring up just how against the code this is. Talia, we have to stop them before they can do anymore damage to him or  _anyone_ else!"he seethed, pacing back and forth in front of Stiles. Stiles stared at him in bewilderment, how could this man care for someone he had only know for a few weeks, and most of that time time he had thought he was a fox. It was inconceivable to Stiles that someone could care for him, considering he hadn't had his parents for very long before he lost them. He had never had anyone who had thought about the well-being of the small child who would wander through towns dirty, bruised, and obviously starving.

"I know honey, we will stop them, I'll make sure of that," Talia growled, eyes flashing alpha red.

"Can I ask you all a question?" Stiles asked, still bewildered by their reactions to his story.

"Of course," Talia said warmly, losing the malicious edge from moments earlier.

"Why do you want to help me? I've been nothing but mean to you, and you don't even know me. I've done nothing to deserve one bit of kindness, and yet, you still want to help me, why?" He asked. And it was true, he'd done nothing to help them and all he had brought was a gang of bloodthirsty hunters. He really didn't deserve any kindness.

"Oh honey, you _have_  done something useful, you made Derek emote, and us helping you heal brought us all closer together, you've done all that and more baby. Besides, you look like you need somebody to love you. I've been thinking, you may not trust us very much right now, but you do need protection, so I am offering you a place in the pack. At least until this whole Argent thing blows over. And if you want to stay afterwards, you may." Talia said, a small smile spreading over her face. Stiles stared at her, shell shocked. A pack? He had never had anything even  _close_ to a pack, even when his parents were alive, since it had just been the three of them.

"What if you all get hurt because of me? I couldn't handle that," Stiles protested. 

"Then we'll heal," Tony said simply.

Finally, Stiles couldn't stand it anymore. He threw himself into Tony and Talia's arms, sobbing into their necks and uttering a string of choked 'thank you' s.

*-----*

 The next morning found Derek glaring at his cereal like it had murdered his family and burned down his house. Stiles had spent the entire night after he had told his story discussing the rules and regulations that came with being in the pack with Derek's mom. He had acted like if he did anything wrong they would hurt him or kick him out of the pack he had just been included in. Derek had heard the parts of his story that Stiles had decided to share, but he knew there was more to it than he had said. He would have to find out later. His train if thought was interrupted by his mother walking into the kitchen.

"Derek, honey.................I want to ask you about something," she said hesitantly, turning and sitting on the bar stool across from her son.

"Yeah, sure mom." he said, shoving his bowl aside and looking up at his mom.

"Do you remember what your father and I told you about pack dynamics and what will happen if I pass?"

"If the occasion arises where the Alpha of a pack dies, he or she will be succeeded by their firstborn, or, if they have no children, the pack second," Derek recited, "wait, why are you asking me?"

"Son, I want you to know that if anything happens to me when we fight the Argents, and we will fight them, you will succeed me as the pack Alpha,"  she said, reaching to grab his hands.

"Why? Laura is your firstborn, she should become the Alpha, not me!" Derek exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"She...........refused to become Alpha, she said you had more promise than she ever would." she sighed, "Just please say you will, I can't imagine what would happen if you refused and I died, then the pack would be left Alpha-less. It would be a disaster, Laura would be forced to become the Alpha, and she's right, you're more suited to the role. It just wouldn't be good for anyone."

"Alright, I'll do it. Thank you, Alpha, for the honor." Derek intoned, following ancient ritual.

" _Thank you_ , son," she said, relieved. She kissed Derek on the head and left the kitchen, leaving Derek to mull over what the hell had just happened.

*-----*

Stiles stared at the pictures he had found. He had been looking through the Hale's bookcase for a book so that he could brush up on his reading skills, when he had found a photo album hidden behind the mysteries. Intrigued, he had grabbed the book, sat down, and started flipping through it. There were many pictures of the Hale children as babies, the pack at cookouts and camp-outs, and there were many of them and a man in a sheriff's uniform. Flipping back through the book, Stiles discovered that the man was in many more photos, just in casual clothes though. He stopped on a close-up picture of the man and gasped shakily.

"Stiles?" Cora asked. He could barely hear her over the pounding in his ears. "Stiles what's wrong?"

"This man here, is he still in town, is he still even alive?" Stiles asked, sounding choked. He pulled the close-up out of the book and held it up to her.

"Sheriff Stilinski? Yeah he's still around, his office is near here if you want to meet him," she said, looking at him questioningly.

"Sheriff _Stilinski,_  oh my god...........he's still alive," Stiles choked out, sinking into the couch, holding his shaking hands together in a fist.

"Do you know him?" Cora asked, sitting next to him and grasping his shaking hands.

"You could say that," Stiles laughed, a little hysterically.

"Come on, we're going to see him. He should still be in his office. I'll drive, then you can go in and I'll drive you home afterwards." she said decidedly, yanking Stiles up and dragging him to the car. Even though Stiles protested the entire way out the door and to the car, he gave in and allowed himself to be dragged into the car. The ride to the Sheriff's office was quiet. His mind was racing. What if his father didn't recognize him? It had been eleven years and Stiles had had to grow up fast. What if his father was completely different from how Stiles remembered him? What if he was twisted and bitter from the many years without his family? His train of thought was cut short by the car stopping and Cora saying, 'We're here."

As Stiles got out of the car, she reached over and grabbed his hand. "I don't know what's going on, but you'll yell for me if you're in trouble right?" Stiles nodded wordlessly and she leaned back, satisfied. Turning, he faced the front door of the sheriff's office, took a deep breath and went in.

*-----*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY FOR THIS CHAPTER.*hides behind couch* I needed to write angst and this was perfect. I also apologize for how short it is, the next one should be longer. I know I said I would explain the Allison situation in this one, but I realized the way I wanted to reveal what is going on there needs to be put later in the timeline for the story to make sense, so keep an eye out for that, it should be in the next chapter or the one after that. I don't know, we'll see.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long, enjoy!

The door seemed much more intimidating than a thing made of wood, glass, metal, and paint should ever be. Inhaling, Stiles wrapped his hands around the doorknob and swung the door open. Walking inside, he stared at the small, homey sheriff's station. It was much more inviting and comfortable looking than he had expected it to be. Slowly, he turned, taking all of it in. Spotting the door to the sheriff's office, he started pacing, constantly glancing over at the shadow moving around in the room. Should he shift? See if his father remembered the fox first before turning to human in front of him? Favoring the answer 'yes', he scurried off to the bathroom to change his clothes.

Staring at his reflection in the mirror, he readied himself as best he could, and shifted. Padding out into the lobby, Stiles braced himself, and drug his claws along the side of the door, wincing at the harsh noise. Hastily, he backed up, narrowly avoiding a door to the nose, when his dad swung the door open and looked around warily before his eyes settled on Stiles. The coffee cup his dad had been holding fell to the floor, forgotten, shattering to a thousand little pieces. Slowly, he knelt to the floor in front of Stiles and reached out shaking hands to hold his muzzle.

"Genim..............? Is that really you? You're here?" his dad asked, voice quavering as he stroked Stiles' head. His only response was to nuzzle into the contact and make a pleased yip. "Oh my god," his dad breathed, "you're alive!" Practically sobbing in relief, he collapsed into the fox, holding him as if he thought Stiles would disappear at any moment.

"Can you shift back so I can see you Gen?" he asked, pulling back to give him room. Nodding, Stiles shuffled back and shifted, relishing the fleeting feeling of the comfort his fur provided as it receded back into his skin. 

"Hey dad, been a while huh?" he said, his voice tight and watery, eyes shining.

"Oh my god," was all his dad could say, pulling him back into a tight embrace that Stiles could now return. They stayed like that for a few minutes, crying into each other's shoulders, holding each other tightly, never wanting to let go. Pulling back, the sheriff looked Stiles over, pride shining in his eyes, but only for a minute before his expression morphed into horror as he registered all the scars. "How did you get these? They can't all be from the..... _attack."_ he asked, eyes wide, fearing what his son's answer would be.

"They're not," Stiles gulped, "After I ran from the house, I started to make my way across the states. I was aiming to get as far away from New York as I possibly could but they kept intercepting me. Every time they would find me, they would attack me. They kept on for years, until I finally reached Beacon Hills. Now they're in Nevada, and me being here has put the Hale pack in danger but they still want me in their pack and I've never had a pack and whatdoIdo?!" Stiles finally stopped ranting and took a breath, turning wide-eyes to his father.

"Oh kid," the Sheriff breathed out, pulling his son into another hug. Stiles inhaled the comforting scent of his father and finally feeling at home for the first time in years.

*-----*

Derek growled as he sped to the station. Cora had called him in a panic, ranting about how Stiles went in to meet the sheriff and how he had reacted when he had seen his picture in the album. He wasn't sure why he was so worried about the young man, he hadn't really known him for that long anyway. He had no reason to feel anything for this fox, and yet his protective instincts were kicking in for some reason. Shaking off this particular train of thought, he pulled in to the parking lot, got out of the car, and, glaring for all he was worth, stalked over to where Cora was parked. 

"Why are you so freaked out about Stiles going to see the  _sheriff_ , the upholder of the law in this town?Frankly, other than when he's with us, he's probably the safest he could be." Derek said, leaning into the open window of Cora's car. Sending a questioning look to his sister.

"Derek, you didn't see how weird he was being when he saw the picture  _and_ on the ride here. He was nervous and relieved and I don't know what else. He was just weird, okay? And I'm worried about him." she explained, leaning back in her seat only to tense back up when the sheriff walked out with one arm over Stiles' shoulder. They both smelled of tears, but they looked ridiculously happy and huge smiles were stretched over both their faces. Looking up, Stiles beamed when he saw Derek. Derek gave a small smile back and sent a questioning look to the man standing next to him then back to Stiles.

"Oh! I guess I should explain. Remember when I was telling you about what happened to me? Well I mentioned that I never found out what happened to my dad right? So, Derek, Cora, meet my father, John Stilinski." Stiles grinned, clutching his father closer like a lifeline. 

"Oh my god! That's why you were so freaked when you saw that photo album. At least you aren't dead, I was so worried, Stiles!  _Never_ do that to me again do you hear me!" Cora exclaimed, jumping out of the car and hugging him close. Cora had become the only one in the family to be really close to Stiles. She had swooped in and stolen him from everybody as soon as he had accepted a place in the pack. They had become very close friends, and Derek couldn't understand why he felt a twinge of jealousy whenever they would do things together. It didn't make sense to him why he was jealous that it wasn't him playing video games and chatting with Stiles. He would have to ask his mother or Deaton why he kept feeling so weird around Stiles. The ringing of his phone interrupted his thoughts. Holding up a finger to Stiles' questioning gaze, he walked a little ways before answering.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Derek? Thank god, is Stiles with you?" his mother's strained tone of voice worried him.

"Yes he is, why? What's wrong?" he asked.

"The Argents are in town. Tony saw them when he was at the store." she said. Derek could practically feel her fury through the phone.

"Oh shit." 

*-----*

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so short but this chapter was kicking my butt and I needed to put something up. I hope you liked it and I hope that the next chapter will be up faster.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took me so long to put this up. All of my classes are winding down so I have to work on final projects and stuff. I've also been having some trouble with deciding what I wanted to happen in the chapter. Another thing I wanted to talk about is that a few people have said that they have had some issues with the way I've written the timeline. Some feel it has gone too fast and it was hard to follow. I just wanted to apologize if my fic has been hard to follow, this is my first fanfiction so I'm learning as I'm going. Please bear with me, I'll try to write better in the future. Thank you and enjoy!
> 
> Also, comments and feedback make my day! I know this isn't my best chapter but I'm trying.

Stiles burst through the front door of the Hale house, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. His eyes flicked hastily over all the faces in the room. Almost all of them showed stress and concern, except for Peter and Lydia. They just looked completely and utterly bored with the situation. 

Swallowing, he asked, "Is it true?"

Talia slowly raised herself up off the couch and moved towards him, hands out in a calming gesture. "Stiles, before you do anything I want you to know that we will do everything we can to keep the Argents from getting to you okay?"

"So they are here," he breathed, sliding down the wall and putting his head in his hands. "It's all my fault. I should never have come here. I should never have let you take care of me. Now you all are going to be attacked and it'll be my fault. I'm sosorrysosorrysosorrysosorrysosorry" he muttered, rocking slightly and constantly running his hands through his wild hair. He could feel a panic attack coming on and it did nothing to calm him down. His chest tightened as he tried to breathe. The hands on his head were shaking and tears started to leak out of his eyes. The room was spinning and he couldn't focus on any of the concerned voices coming a him from all sides. He clenched his hands into fists so tight that he drew blood. Warm hands gripped his shoulders firmly, yanking him back to reality. The voices became clearer and he could hear snippets of what they were saying.

"Stiles honey, breathe." Talia said, leaning over him. "Derek, hold him closer. You seem to be helping.''

"Okay," came Derek's gruff voice. The hands pulled Stiles close to a well-muscled chest. The fact that it was Derek who had grounded him was surprising. No-one had ever been able to bring him back from a panic attack before. Stiles curled into Derek's hold, taking deep breaths to try and calm himself down. Slowly, his muscles started to slacken and his death grip on Derek's T-shirt loosened.

"Are you okay?" Derek asked, looking down at him. He looked up and nodded. Slowly, he got off Derek's lap and moved shakily towards the couch. As he sank down into the cushions, he kept his gaze firmly on his hands, which were still shaking, and refusing to look up at the pack's faces. 

"What was that?" his dad asked, voice showing exactly how worried he was.

"That was a panic attack, my dear sheriff," Peter said, moving from where he had been leaning against the wall watching the whole ordeal, " from what he told us, I believe he has been having them for years."

Stiles glared at Peter. Turning to his dad, he said, "I was going to tell you at a better time but now I don't have to.  _Thank you_   _for that_ ,Peter."

"You're welcome," Peter smirked, retreating back to the shadows where he had been lurking.

"I'm so sorry kid," his dad said dejectedly, sitting down next to him and pulling him into a firm side-hug. He didn't let go until much later.

"It's alright, it's not your fault," Stiles said, nuzzling his head under his dad's chin, "now, who wants to tell me how the hell the Argents got here so fast?"

*-----*

Derek was internally freaking out. All he could do was watch as Stiles sank to the floor and started to shake and cry. He could smell the blood coming from the young man's hands. He shared a horrified look with the sheriff before looking back to the fox who was in the throes of what looked like a panic attack, and it was getting worse. It took a smack to the back of his head from Cora, and a hiss of "Do something you idiot!" to knock him back to reality.

Gently but firmly, he grabbed Stiles' shoulders, watching in fascination as the man stopped muttering rapid-fire apologies and the shaking slowed. He pulled Stiles closer when his mother told him to and clutched him to his chest. Stiles' hands curled into Derek's shirt and his entire body was tense. Derek stroked his hair, silently willing him to breathe and pointedly ignoring the warm, knowing smile his mother was giving them. After a bit, Stiles relaxed, hands uncurling from their grip on his shirt, and moved to the couch. Derek's wolf whined at the loss of contact and he had to resist the urge to pull the fox back to his lap so he could comfort him until his heart stopped beating so fast. He watched dejectedly as Peter told the sheriff what happened and his wolf whined again at the look of anger on Stiles' face when he looked at Peter.

He was pulled out of his reverie when Stiles posed the question, "Now, who wants to tell me how the hell the Argents got here so fast?"

His mother let out a sigh of relief and answered, "A week ago, one of our friends in one of the neighboring packs called and said that the Argents had been seen a few miles from their main house. They said they would try to keep them there as long as they could, but they couldn't stall them forever. Apparently, these hunters are stronger than we anticipated, considering Tony just saw them in the grocery store this morning." She said, gaze firmly set on Stiles' face.

"Okay, okay, we can take them right?" Stiles asked, turning hopeful eyes to her.

"Yes baby, we can  _absolutely_ take them. We are one of the strongest packs in California, we are always ready for hunters and these ones are no exception," she said, moving to sit on the young man's other side and rubbing his back.

"Alright. Thank you, Alpha, for helping me with this even though you didn't have to." he said, smiling up at her and leaning into the comforting touch. A sound came from low in his chest that sounded suspiciously like purring.

"You're welcome Stiles," she smiled, kissing the top of his head and standing up, "now! Who wants pizza? Tony picked some up and I think we need a distraction. Derek come help me in the kitchen."

Derek followed his mother into the kitchen and went to the freezer to grab a pizza.

"Derek, put the pizza down for a second, I have something I want to talk to you about," his mother said from behind him, motioning to the bar stool next to her.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked, sitting next to her.

"What do you know about mates?" 

*-----*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet you thought the Argents would show up in this chapter didn't you? *laughs evilly* I'm sorry, that was horribly unnecessary. Anyway, I already have ideas for the next chapter so it's in the works. I hope it will be up by next weekend, thanks for reading!  
> P.S.   
> Should I write out Talia and Derek's conversation about mates, or should I just write the aftermath and let y'all imagine the conversation yourselves? Put your answers down below beautiful people, hope to see you all soon! :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make a good discussion about mates, but I'm not sure how good it actually ended up being. Anyway, it seems that I tend to update on the weekends so that's when you should expect updates from me. Enjoy!

*-----*

"What do you know about mates?"

Derek ran the question through his head repeatedly, still trying to wrap his head around the conversation that had evolved out of that one simple question just hours earlier.

~~~~~~

_"What do you mean?" he asked as he shifted in his seat._

_"I mean what I asked, what do you know about mates Derek?" his mother asked as she watched him closely._

_"Umm, okay, I know you are dad are mates, and so are Allison and Lydia and Jackson and Scott. I know that you are all ridiculously affectionate and tactile. You're almost always together and you go insane if the other gets hurt. I get the basics of what mates are to each other, you're everything, but I don't understand the technicalities of it, or how you find your mate." Derek said. He looked at his mother curiously, wondering just where she was going with this._

_"Then today's your lucky day son, I am going to tell you everything you need to know about mates."_

_"Why now? You could have easily waited to tell me or you could have told me earlier. Why are you telling me this now?" he asked._

_"I realized that you will become Alpha at some point, even if  nothing happens to us when we deal with the Argents, Laura has still given her rights as the next Alpha to you. And when you inherit that role you will need a mate and knowledge. So I'm going to give you the necessary lecture." she patted his hand and smiled. He shifted again, only this time, he was more uncomfortable. He knew that smile, and nothing good ever came with it._

_"Okay, so I'll start with the basics. Mates are generally very tactile and protective, you've seen this firsthand with me and your father and some of the other pack members. Mates are very possessive of each other and if you try to hurt or mess with anyone's mate, especially an Alpha's, you'll most likely end up severely injured or dead."_

_"How do you find your mate?" Derek asked._

_"The first sign that you've found your mate is that you start to be very protective of said person, you comfort them, calm them, help them, you do all you can to eliminate any threat to their well-being. Another major sign is their scent. Their scent will be pleasing to you and your wolf. A wolf's mate's scent usually has an undercurrent of cinnamon in it. You will also smell like cinnamon to them, it's really rather fascinating." she explained, "Now, I have another reason for wanting to discuss this with you now. I believe that you.......may have already found your mate."_

_"What?! Who is it?" Derek exclaimed, eyes wide in shock._

_"Well, this...........person has recently come into your life. You calm them and protect them. I've noticed how you look at them and I know that, even if you don't realize it, your wolf recognizes them as your mate." she said. She looked at him intensely, obviously waiting for some semblance of an idea to cross his face, for him to realize who she was talking about._

_"I don't know who you're talking about mom, I really have no idea." he said, confused as hell._

_"Talia, why don't you just tell the poor boy who it is? You're just confusing him." Peter drawled as he leaned against the doorjamb._

_"Do you know who it is Peter? If you do can you just please tell me. If I've met my mate I need to know." Derek pleaded._

_"Peter don't, he needs to figure this out on his own," she growled._

_"Fine, I won't tell him who it is."he turned his attention to Derek he added, "I will tell you this, just look around, the answer is right under your nose."he smirked and moved out of the doorway and walked back to the living room._

~~~~~

Groaning, Derek pulled his pillow over his face. Who could it be? There was no-one new in his life, except.............no, it couldn't be. He went over all of his actions during the past few weeks trying to find a different answer, but there was no answer but one.  _Stiles._ His mate was Stiles.

*-----*

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that this is short but I felt like this was the appropriate stopping place for this chapter. I'm sorry if you don't like this update but it needed to be put out there. I rewrote this entire chapter like three times, I'm still not satisfied with it, but this is the best it's going to get. I hope that my next chapter will be better. 
> 
> side note: The wavy lines are supposed to signal the beginning and end of a flashback. I hope they work better than the italics. Tell me if you have other ways I could do this.
> 
> Please comment what you would like to see happen next and I will take it into consideration. Thank you for putting up with me and my horrible story. I hope you liked this chapter. Bye!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that this chapter is a day late. My muse left on vacation, and it took a bit for it to return, tanned and everything. It brought me a small glass dolphin so it's all good. I hope you like this chapter, enjoy!:)

*-----*

Stiles grumbled in frustration. He stared in consternation at the two boxes in his hands, the stress of making the decision was unbearable. How could he be expected to decide between Fruit Loops and Lucky Charms? Sighing, he threw both boxes into the cart and walked down the aisle and away from the cereal. Stiles stopped dead whenhe heard a voice that had been the source of his nightmares for eleven years.

"Hello baby boy, pleasure seeing you here."

Slowly, he turned to face the source of the voice. Panic settled low in his belly as he stared at the sneering face of one Kate Argent.

"Nononononononono," Stiles muttered as he backed away from her and towards the door.

"Awwwww, where are you going? We have so much to catch up on," she purred, advancing on the terrified fox.

"No, we really don't. Good seeing you but I  _really_ have to be going now, my friends are expecting me." he said, voice rising slightly as he sped up, wanting to get away from Kate as quickly as possible.

"They can wait, I haven't seen you in months, we have  _so_ much to talk about," she said, a sickly sweet smile spread across her face as she reached for his wrist.

"I don't think so bitch," Stiles said. Turning, he ran out of the store as fast as he could, already puling off one of his shirts to make it easier for him to shift.

He could hear a faint hiss of "shit" before Kate pulled out her phone and dialed, presumably calling her father, Gerard. He coudn't hear what she said next because he was too far into the woods by then. Pausing to strip, Stiles shifted and started running again, this time towards the Hale house.

*-----*

Derek looked up from his novel in confusion. He could hear a steady pounding growing louder and louder as it approached the house. After a moment, he registered the pounding as the thump of Stiles' heart. Dropping his novel, he ran down the stairs and out the door. He kept running until he could see a small, orange shape barreling towards him. He dropped to his knees and pulled the small body to his chest, stroking Stiles' head and murmuring soothing words into his fur. It took a second for his legs to stop running, and even after they stopped he was still shaking. A low whine floated through the air as Stiles pushed deeper into Derek's hold, instinctively searching for comfort.

"What's wrong Stiles?" he asked, pulling back slightly so he could see his eyes. His pupils were blown wide in fear and panic. "Please shift back, I need to know what happened." Derek pleaded, lightly stroking the soft fur. He pulled his hand back when Stiles backed out of his grasp. He watched as Stiles curled in on himself. His claws and fur receded, his muzzle and ears morphed back into his face and ears, and his tail shrank and disappeared. Stiles stood and shook himself.

Turning to Derek, he said, in a somewhat shaky tone, "I'll tell you what happened, but not out here."

"Okay, we can talk when we get to the house," Derek said as he got up from his kneeling position. He stopped, thought for a second, and pulled off his shirt. He walked over to Stiles and handed him his shirt, pointedly avoiding looking at the naked young man in front of him.

"Oh, right," Stiles said, blushing and grabbing the offered article of clothing. He wrapped the shirt around his hips and quickly strode towards the house.

*----*

Stiles looked around at the faces of the pack,  _his_ pack (he still couldn't get over that). Derek was seething and his hands were clenched into tight fists at his sides. Stiles' dad, Talia, and Tony were the same, royally pissed off. Unlike the Alphas, future Alpha, and the sheriff, the rest of the pack, not including Peter who was quietly reading in the corner, a smirk on his face, were shaken. Allison was tightly holding the hand of her wife, who was curled into her side. Isaac and Scott were being held protectively in the arms of their mates. Boyd and Erica looked like they couldn't decide whether they were scared or pissed. It was the sheriff who broke the silence.

"If Kate called Gerard then they know Stiles is here and they're going to come after him. If they do, we're all in danger." he said.

"At least we're ready for them when they do come," Talia growled. The pack nodded and let out a small, collective sigh of relief at the knowledge.

"When do you think they're going to-" Stiles was interrupted when a knock sounded at the door. Talia put a finger to her lips and motioned for them all to stay put. She walked to the door and they could hear her claws unsheathing. They all strained their ears to hear the exchange about to take place. 

"Who, may I ask, are you?" Talia asked pleasantly enough, even though they could all hear the menace hidden in her words.

"My name is Kate and we need to talk," a venomous voice said. They could hear a gun being cocked and the rustling of leather, "come outside and bring your pack with you, I know they're all listening in right now."

"Alright, no need for weapons, I'll come out." Talia said calmly, "Tony, bring the pack."

Tony turned to them, motioned for them to follow him, and walked out of the living room and out the door. Slowly, they all shuffled out and formed a group behind their Alphas. A low growl moved through the pack, showing the Argents just what they thought of their presence in Hale territory. Stiles was shoved into the middle of the group of growling werewolves. He could feel Derek's presence behind him, a comforting warmth.

"Good, now that you're all here I can get what I-we came for. Hand over the fox and there doesn't have to be any bloodshed." Kate said, she shrugged and waved her pistol in the air in front of her, "Now, whad'ya say, do we have a -  _oh_ , well  _this_ is a surprise." she said, her sneer growing as her gaze landed on Allison. "Chris, look who I found."

"Kate, what are you-oh my god.  _Allison_." a man in what appeared to be his early 40's stumbled past Kate. He ran a shaking hand through his blonde hair but moved it back down to cover his mouth.

"How do you know my name?" Allison demanded, shifting slightly so her taller frame shielded the smaller one of her wife.

"I-I'm your father."

*-----*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, feedback is welcome and encouraged and I'm open for suggestions. Tell me if you liked this chapter or hated it. Also, feel free to tell me what you would like to see happen next and I'll take it into consideration. Thanks for reading and putting up with me. Love y'all! :)
> 
> P.S.  
> I won't be able to put up a new chapter this weekend, I'm going camping in Tennesee with my GS troop and will be back on Monday. Expect a new chapter next week.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter is short, and late, and not very good. *sighhhhhh* I do have a reason though! I'm not just a completely irresponsible author who can't keep track of time.................yeah, totally not.......totally.*coughs into hand and looks away* We're having house guests all this week and we had to spend this weekend cleaning and I only got a little time yesterday and a couple hours today for writing so this is what resulted. Enjoy!

*-----*

"You're her  _what?!"_ Lydia screeched, pushing past Allison so she could see Chris better.

"I'm her father," he said, stepping away from the porch and the imposing young woman who was glaring at him fiercely. 

"I don't have a father, I'm an orphan," Allison said, putting a hand on Lydia's shoulder in an effort to placate her seething wife. "I was put in a foster home at age three, they said my parents had died in a car crash."

"So that's the story they went with, I wasn't sure which one they would pick. I would have gone with the one where her parents were murdered but to each their own," Kate sighed, a little pout on her lips, "those orphanage people were just  _so_ boring, it was hard not to kill one to make things more interesting."

"You were the one who took my child away from me?" Chris growled, turning to her with menace in his eyes, "I thought she was kidnapped, Kate! I have spent eighteen years thinking my daughter was dead because of you."

"Oh come on Chris, she would have been a horrible hunter, a disgrace to the family name. What kind of an Argent tries to save any hurt animal she can find. She would have cried if one of those beasts got a  _papercut_ , imagine what would've happened if she had to kill one of them! I did this so we wouldn't be ashamed to call ourselves Argents, so we could go to the annual gatherings with our heads held high." she hissed, gun held in a tight grip by her side.

"You hold family pride over family itself? That's despicable." he ground out. She opened her mouth to reply but was cut off when a voice rose from somewhere in the middle of the crowd of werewolves on the porch.

"Excuse me, I do hate to interrupt family bonding time but weren't we in the middle of negotiations?" Peter asked, pushing his way through the pack to stand by his alphas.

"Oh yes, so sorry. Where were we?" Kate asked, bringing her gun back up to her shoulder. She pointedly ignored the scathing, fire-filled glare that her brother was sending her.

"I believe you were demanding that we hand Stiles over and we were about to give you our answer," he said, crossing his arms and shifting slightly. Even though he looked calm on the outside Stiles could tell he was upset. He could see it in the line of his shoulders and the slight tic in his jaw.

"Mmmm, I think you're right. So, whad'ya say? Can I have my baby boy back?" she smiled, and stepped a little closer to the porch, stopping when the pack growled as one. Stiles flinched violently when she said "baby boy." Memories of the consistent abuse and torment that she had inflicted over the years came rushing back, that phrase had been a constant theme. "Come now, don't be like that, he and I just have  _so_ much to catch up on we couldn't possibly do it over the phone." Stiles could  _feel_ Derek's growl.

"No, you can't have your 'baby boy', he is safe here with us and he will remain so until I can no longer protect him. You will never have him." Talia growled, crossing her arms defiantly, claw tipped fingers tapping her forearms.

"Well, it seems that the only way to get him back is to make sure he's not guarded, so...." Kate drawled. In one fluid motion she swung the gun up and fired a single shot straight into Talia's stomach. The pack stared in frozen silence at their Alpha. They watched with wide eyes as she pressed a hand to her stomach and looked down at the blood oozing through her fingers. Shakily, she swayed, leaned against the doorway, and sank to the ground. She turned a pained gaze to her pack and whispered two words, "Get them." It was like a spell had been broken and all hell broke loose.

*-----*

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter. As always comments and feedback are appreciated. Tell me how you, as readers, see this story going. I'm very intrigued to see what you come up with. I love you all so much<3! Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time I post a chapter:) I'm glad that you all see this as something worthy of your time:):):):):):):)):):):):):):):):):)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Finally managed to write a semi-decent fight scene *whew*:) I thought I would never get it right. I'm still not completely satisfied with it but I think it came out pretty well. Anyway, here it is! The fight scene between the Hale pack and the Argents. Enjoy!

*-----*

Derek stared numbly at the prone figure of his Alpha, his  _mother._ He watched as she lifted the hand that had been pressed to the bullet wound up to her face. He watched as she looked to the pack and said two words, "Get them." Those words seemed to break the silence that had fallen over the clearing and the pack leaped into action. Roaring and snarling, the betas rushed the Argents. Claws raised and eyes glowing, Derek went straight for Kate.

*-----*

Stiles quietly backed through the front door of the mansion. As soon as his feet crossed the threshhold, he turned, ran upstairs, and slid into the first room he saw. Stiles came to a stop in the middle of the room and looked around. He had apparently run into the Alpha's room, going by all the pictures of the pack and the king-size bed. He glanced around the room, scanning for any places to hide where he wouldn't be found. His eyes alighted on the closet door and he quickly clambered inside, shutting the door as tightly as he could. After he shut the door, he pressed back into the clothes, wrapping them around his body so he could be even more hidden. Now all he could do was wait and hope that it would be over soon.

*-----*

Snarling, Derek rushed Kate. She jumped out of the way but his claws caught her in the side. Hissing in pain, she glared at him as she backed away, gun still raised but now it was pointed at him. He snarled again, glowing eyes fixed on her face and he blatantly ignored the gun.

"Aww, are the beasts touchy today?" she purred, pressing a hand to the sluggishly bleeding slashes on her side.

"You shot my mother, bitch." he growled, crouching down in a predatory position.

"Yes, I did.  _Very_ observant." she smiled, clicking back the safety. "Unfortunately, you won't get to hone those skills when you're dead." Derek's eyes narrowed and he was just about to tackle her when someone came up behind Kate.

"Put the gun down now." Peter said, one clawed hand wrapped around her throat and the other holding her arm in an iron grip.

"Or what?" she gasped, trying to get some air in her lungs but still pointing the gun at Derek.

"You know exactly what, put the gun  _down."_

"Hell no." she sneered. Her finger wrapped around the trigger and pulled, firing a bullet into Derek's thigh. Peter roared and slashed Kate's throat, reveling in her choke of pain and the way her lifeless body collapsed on the ground. Eyes burning with fury, Peter kicked her body viciously before he ran over to Derek.

"I have to go back and help finish these bastards, I assume you know how to deal with the wolfsbane right?" he said, voice unwavering but his eyes betrayed his calm facade. The only response he got was a grunt and a nod of affirmation. Sighing and making a mental note to teach his nephew about communication after all of this was over, Peter patted his shoulder and ran off to go help Jackson with the hunter he had cornered.

Derek slumped a little, pressing a hand to the wound in his leg, hissing at the contact. Standing shakily, he looked around at the carnage surrounding him. Isaac and Boyd were ripping into one of the hunters, the bloodied remains of his companion laying at their feet in dozens of miscellaneous pieces. Erica had one arm stuck through the middle of a hunter and was holding her in the air while Lydia cast some sort of spell on a shaking huntress. Danny and Scott were taking turns gouging out different parts of one hunter, starting with the eyes. Allison was the only one alone, she had an arrow aimed at her father's head and a determined look on her face. She was pointedly ignoring the pleading expression on the man's face. He smiled proudly at his pack, but his smile faltered when he realized two people were missing, Stiles and Gerard. 

*-----*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments and suggestions are welcome and greatly appreciated. I hope you liked this chapter and please tell me if you did or didn't. If you didn't, tell me what you didn't like about it and I will attempt to rectify the problem if I can. Thanks for reading and putting up with me:)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, before y'all start screaming at me, I know this is a week late but I have a reason. I had my best friend over for a sleepover last weekend and she happens to be an EXTREMELY distracting human being. So, basically, what I'm saying is that I'm a lazy little weirdo and I can't figure out how deadlines work so I apologize. I hope you like this chapter, enjoy!

*-----*

Stiles huddled in the darkness, surrounded by clothes. He could hear the sounds of fighting coming from the yard through the door. The growls and roars seemed to echo through the small closet. He cringed at every scream, human or not. He had never really liked violence, and he liked it even less when he was the reason that violence was happening. Footsteps echoed through the house, coming closer and closer to the Alpha's room. Startled, Stiles sank farther down into the small pile of clothes and shifted, hoping that his smaller form would be less visible.

The door to the bedroom slammed open and a rough, horribly familiar voice said, "Now where's that furry little shit?" Gerard growled in irritation and started searching the room. Stiles could hear him practically destroying the room in his search for him. After a few seconds, the sounds of Gerard's investigation tapered off. Stiles poked his head out of the blankets and strained his ears, trying hard to hear if Gerard was still in the room. There was silence and then the closet door was ripped open, blinding light filled the once dark closet. Stiles blinked rapidly, letting his eyes adjust to the sudden change in brightness. His vision cleared, he looked up into the leering face of Gerard Argent, the one Argent who was worse than Kate.

*-----*

Frantically, Derek scanned the yard for Stiles, hoping beyond hope that Stiles was fighting someone and not somewhere in the house with Gerard. Not seeing him, Derek growled and started towards the house. Pressing a hand to his side, he stumbled through the door and up the stairs. Through the haze of wolfsbane that was dulling his senses he could hear a faint conversation coming from the first room on the left, his parents' room.

"Let go of me you bastard," a young voice, Stiles, choked out.

"No way in hell, you're the reason my daughter and almost my entire team is dead. It's only fair that you die too, just to make things more even," Gerard snarled. A few faint whines came from the room with a few choking sounds interspersed. Snarling, Derek stormed through the door, only to stop when his eyes landed on the spectacle in front of him. Gerard had a half-shifted Stiles by the throat and was holding him in the air. There was a bright red mark across his left cheek and he had a split lip, Derek could also just barely see the beginnings of a black eye. Gerard's face split into a huge sneer when he saw who had come through the door.

"Ah Derek, so glad you could join us, would you like to get a shot in before I finish him? No? Alright, your loss. Guess I'll just get it over with myself." Gerard sneered and tightened his grip on Stiles' neck.

"Let him go!" Derek yelled, lunging forward with his claws unsheathed. Unfortunately, the wolfsbane in his system offset his abilities a bit so he missed Gerard by a few inches.

"Why so protective little wolf?" Gerard asked with a small smirk on his lips which died when he noticed something in his face, "Oh, so that's what it is. He's your mate, isn't he? That explains a lot. I wonder what would happen if I did.....this?" he released Stiles for just the right amount of time for him to whack him over the head. Stiles' eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed in a heap on the floor, tail twitching.

" _NO_!" Derek roared. Eyes glowing a bright orange, he leaped onto Gerard and plunged his claws into his gut, ripping out chunks of flesh and intestines, not caring that he was spattering his parents' room in chunks of psychotic geriatric. Chest heaving, he removed his hand from inside of Gerard's body and stared at the limp corpse at his feet. Vacant eyes stared back, blood trickled down the bloodstained chin. A low, satisfied rumble rolled through Derek's chest at the sight of his achievement. The rumble stopped abruptly when he turned and saw the unconscious body of his mate sprawled out on the floor. Whining, he bent down and gently picked up Stiles' prone form. Slowly, he walked out of the room and down the hall. He strode out onto the porch and laid him on the porch swing. Immediately, he was surrounded by concerned shouting from the pack.

"Derek, what the hell happened?!" Lydia cried, running up and dropping to her knees beside Stiles. She started to softly run a hand through his downy hair and looked questioningly at Derek. He could only say one thing.

"Gerard, but I took care of him. He won't bother us  _ever_ again." 

*-----*

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! :) I know it took a bit, but I finally churned it out. As always, comments and feedback are welcomed and I love to hear where you guys see this story going and just what you think about it overall. Every time I go and look to see the new stats for this, I'm blown away by how many people actually like it! Love y'all and thanks for reading:)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so begins my customary "excuse box" of the chapter. I went to a friend's house for a sleepover last weekend and got, like, two hours of sleep. Needless to say, I didn't get a lot of writing done that weekend. I've also had some issues with the dialogue in this chapter so it took a little longer. I'm still not pleased with how it turned out but it is what it is. Anyway, I hope y'all like this chapter. Enjoy! :)

*-----*

Groaning, Stiles shifted on the bed he was laying on. The last thing he remembered was being walloped over the head by Gerard. Slowly, he opened his eyes, wincing at the stab of pain that shot through his skull. Rays of early morning light filtered through the filmy curtains that hung over the window of the room he was in. Glancing around, he realized that he was in Derek's room. Sketches of various flora and fauna were plastered across almost all of the available wall space and there was a drawing desk in the corner with drawers overflowing with art supplies and sketchbooks. The two bookcases in the room were chock-full with books of poetry, notebooks, history books, and novels. The forest green walls were only illuminated by the light coming from the window, the steel lamp in the corner unplugged and forgotten. The sound of a door opening interrupted his study of the room. It was Derek.

Stiles had been watching Derek for a few seconds when he remembered what Gerard had said. Something about him and Derek being mates, right? He racked his brain trying to remember what his mother had told him about mates but Derek's voice disrupted his train of thought.

"We need to talk."

*-----*

Derek stared at Stiles' tousled bed-hair and sleep-filled eyes. He was still staring when Stiles asked, "What about?"

"What do you mean?" he said, eyes lifting from where had been scanning Stiles' body for any damage that might not have healed yet. No, really, that's all it was.

"You said we need to talk. What about?"

"Oh, right. I was just wondering, um, exactly how much of Gerard's psychotic babbling did you actually hear?" he asked, wincing at how shady he sounded.

"Almost all of it, until I got whacked over the head, obviously."

"Are you....okay, you know, with what he said about us being mates." Derek cringed and mentally face-palmed. 'Good job, that was about as subtle as a brick to the face.' he thought to himself, looking around at anything but Stiles. He momentarily focused on his bookshelf before he could hear rustling coming from the bed. Ears burning, he started to back towards the door. Stiles advanced, eyes calm and observant, watching Derek and how he reacted to his actions. He stopped in front of him, reached out a hand, and lightly stroked Derek's arm.

"I'm fine with what he said, I've felt comfortable and safe with you since you saved me when I was shot. You've helped me, worried about me, and you even killed Gerard to protect me, and I don't think you comprehend exactly what that means to me. I've spent almost my entire life in fear, with no one ever giving a damn about the beaten, homeless teenager wandering through their town. You and the pack were the first people to care." He took a breath and kept talking, "I thought something felt different with you and now I know why. There was never anyone to explain the basic dos and don'ts and the rules of the supernatural world so I had no idea what mates were or even that they existed. I want to start learning those rules and I'm glad that I get to learn them with you."

Derek gaped at him like a fish. "You really mean that?" he asked softly, looking at Stiles in wonder. Hesitantly, he reached up and ran his fingers through Stiles' hair.

"Yes, I do." Stiles smiled and leaned up to press a kiss to Derek's lips.

*-----*

                                                                                                               ~FIN~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this chapter and, as always, comments and feedback are greatly encouraged. I love y'all, bye!
> 
> I'm sad to say that this story is finished. This is the last chapter guys. Thank you so much for sticking by me through the slow updates. I'm so happy that my first story got so much positive feedback. 
> 
> P.S.  
> I have also written a one-shot called The Orders and my next project is going to be a prequel to that, hopefully it will be up soon. Love y'all!


	12. Epilogue

_Epilogue~~~~~~_

 

Talia scowled at the frazzled man on her couch. Chris Argent was still shaken from having his daughter point a gun at his head but he was willing to answer most of the questions the pack had. Allison patted him on the back and nodded to Stiles.

"I think you wanted to ask first right?" she asked.

"Yep," he said, popping the "p," "How the fuck did you people keep finding me?"

"We have informants in almost every town across the United States, we're an old family. They would notify us whenever they saw a fox or a small child matching your description and small groups of our family and friends would check it out. We had to bring a lot of people in to help us but in the end we couldn't catch you," Chris sighed, a slightly ashamed look crossing his face.

"But why? Why would you chase a seven year old kid across the US? What the hell did I do to you guys?"

" _You_ didn't do anything, it's what you are that made us chase you."

"A werefox? surely I'm not that special."

"Oh but you are," Chris said, "you're not just a werefox Stiles, you have magic. You are the only magical werefox in the United States and there are people who are willing to pay an extremely high price for you."

"................................................... _What."_

"Stiles, I think-" the Sheriff began, reaching out from his spot on the couch to touch his son's shoulder.

"Dad, what does he mean I have  _magic_?" Stiles asked, his expression becoming suspicious.

"Ahem, I don't-why would-um," the Sheriff stuttered, stumbling over his words, eyes wide.

"Let's go talk in the kitchen," Stiles said, expression stony, and grabbed his father by the arm, hauling him into the kitchen.

"Okay, explain," he demanded once he had dumped his father into a chair by the kitchen table.

"Alright, so maybe I should have told you this earlier........I have magic."

"No shit, I thought Mom was the one with the all-powerful voodoo crap on top of her werefox issues. I had no idea it would be my dear, sweet, honest father, who would never, ever lie to me for any reason."

"I know, I know, I'm a horrible parent. This won't help but I didn't tell your mother either, I wasn't sure how she would react and a good time never came up. I was planning on telling her and you the day after your birthday, but, for obvious reasons, I didn't end up telling you," the Sheriff said, eyes sad.

"So, I'm magic then..........," Stiles said slowly, not fully comprehending what he had just been told.

"Yes Stiles, you're magic," the Sheriff sighed, "And you're not going to freak out about this right?"

"No, probably not until tonight and I dream about it so Derek'll have to wake me up and calm me down and I need to know how to work the magic and oh god what if I can't properly do magic and I'm freaking out aren't I."

"Yes, you are," the Sheriff said, smiling, "and it's perfectly understandable."

"...............can I have a hug? I think that would help calm me down a bit."

The Sheriff smiled, got up and pulled his son into a warm and comforting embrace. Stiles gripped his father tightly and shoved his face into his father's neck.

"Thank you," he muttered, inhaling shakily.

"You're welcome," the Sheriff smiled, petting his son's hair.

~~~~~~

 

**Author's Note:**

> Stalk me on [Tumblr](http://deafhavvkeye.tumblr.com/)


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